


Gertie

by theclaravoyant



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 14:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20602640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theclaravoyant/pseuds/theclaravoyant
Summary: Ever since Kevin moved out of the city for work, he and Raymond have been missing each other.One day, Kevin decides to take a chance.(and the rest, as they say, is history)





	Gertie

“I love you.”

_“I love you as well.”_

Kevin waited until the phone clicked back to the dial tone, then he sighed a heavy, weary sigh. He rested the earpiece against his forehead in a limp attempt to conjure strength, as his heart seemed to sink deeper into his gut. He sighed once more, but it did little to relieve the lonely ache.

Of course, it was not the first time he and Raymond had had to cancel their weekend plans since he had moved out of the city, and of course, he had known that things would be a little more difficult this way, but each time a deadline shifted or a roster changed, the faint absence of Raymond grew stronger. It made itself known in the lone teacup that Kevin prepared in the mornings and the toaster beside it that he let rest cold. It made itself heard in the comments he wasted to the air remarking upon his novel or the news of the day, where Raymond should have been listening, regarding, and no doubt adding a dramatic retelling or two of his own. Kevin had never minded his own company, so at first it had surprised him to find that his bed, his lounge, his kitchen felt empty without Raymond. But it was not the first time - nor the second, nor the third - and the surprise had waned. In its wake there was nothing but a terrible, nigh unbearable pining.

Kevin took a deep breath, and reminded himself that, as much as he would like to while away the hours waxing lyrical about his aching heart, he had a day to get on with. There was work to be done, and the fact that Raymond would no longer be coming over to sample his experimental use of goats’ cheese in tonight’s meal should bear no relevance to it.

And yet, Kevin found himself preoccupied. He was taking a few undergraduate courses in Romantic poetry and today’s piece of choice was the very fitting _A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning._

(Perhaps, Kevin mused, he had been preoccupied with Raymond’s absence even longer than he had thought, if this was the material he’d been selecting.)

_“… If they be two,”_ he murmured the recitation to himself as he tucked his papers under his arm and his scarf into his jacket, _“they are two so as stiff twin compasses are two…”_

He tucked his head against the autumn chill and strode off across the campus, turning the words over in his mind, marvelling at how this ode to parted lovers had crossed so many years to speak to his heart here today. Caught up as he was in exploring the thought of which of them was the compass needle and which the post, it was a wonder that he happened to stop when he did. Were he the type of person who believed in divine intervention, he might have said, upon reflection, that was what inspired him to look up at this particular moment in time. More likely, it was a bird or a passing cyclist or the glint of the sun on the windshield of the Chevvy that got his attention. Either way, she had it. She and the sign in her window that read:

_FOR SALE_

_CALL GERTIE, _with a phone number underneath.

All of a sudden, Kevin felt that long road between himself and Raymond shortening.

All of a sudden, he knew what he had to do.

Springing into action like a rabbit on a hunt, he sprinted back across campus the way he had come. He burst into the associate teachers’ lounge with none of his usual dignity or aplomb, barely taking a moment to brush off his feet let alone remove his jacket and scarf before he made a bee-line for the phone and dialled the number he had read. Remembering at the last second to try not to sound too out of breath, he swallowed and managed in a somewhat civilised tone;

“Good morning, this is Associate Professor Kevin Cozner. I’m looking for a Miss Gertie, if she is available? Excellent. I apologise for the morning intrusion, but I’m just calling about the car…”

-

Raymond sighed to himself, as his eyes wandered back to the clock on the wall for what he was sure was the hundredth time that day. His conversation with Kevin that morning had left a proverbial cloud over his head and it was hard to keep his mind on the task at hand, and not on the long and lonely hours stretching out before him. Even longer and lonelier, now that he’d been called in on the Saturday night shift and had to cancel his weekend with Kevin.

He missed that man. More than he cared to admit. He missed him so much, it was almost worth keeping a photograph of him somewhere in the office.

(Almost).

Fortunately for Raymond, he had an excellent memory. He remembered Kevin’s face, his voice, his mannerisms very well, even after they’d had to cancel so many outings in a row.

Unfortunately for Raymond, it was not the same.

A memory could not recite poetry with the same grace as a living being.

A memory could not press out his suit and adjust his buttons in the morning, or comfort him after a long day, or kiss him or brush his hand or smile at him in a quiet moment. He did so love making Kevin smile.

_(He did so love…)_

Raymond swallowed the thought. If he lingered much longer on it, he might just decide it was worth taking the train out and back in again for those few hours in the early morning when they might just cross each other’s path. Madness, that would be. Utter nonsense, and far too bold. What would Kevin even say to such a thing?

_(My, Raymond, _he would no doubt scold, with his eyebrows raised, and that devilish smile on his face.)

** _BRRRRING BRRRING_ **

The phone was a rude awakening, but Raymond leapt to answer it, at the same time as he checked to recall which case he had in front of him, and mentally prepare for questions about his other open files. Hopefully it was the laboratory with an update, but it could just as easily be a lawyer or a family member with some much more involved concern…

He discovered a moment later, however, that it was neither.

_“Good afternoon, Sergeant Raymond Holt,” _Kevin greeted. “_It’s Associate Professor Kevin Cozner.”_

“Afternoon, Professor,” Raymond greeted, for it was not a ‘good’ one in the slightest (and he could hardly call the man _Kevin _at work now, could he?) “It’s a pleasure to hear from you again. How can I help?”

_“Look out the window.”_

Raymond’s heart seemed to stutter. Had he misheard? Surely not, he had excellent hearing, and recall. He must have simply made an incorrect assumption, then, about the reason for the request. Kevin could not possibly be here by now; it had only been two hours, and the train didn’t even leave for another four.

“I’m sorry?”

_“Trust me, Raymond,” _Kevin promised. _“The window.”_

And despite the impossibility of it all, Raymond found himself lowering the phone and gravitating to the window. Hoping against hope, he parted the blinds and peered down at the street below, and there was Kevin, looking up at him from the payphone on the sidewalk. He waved, and all of a sudden Raymond knew what he had to do.

“Where are you going, Sergeant?”

“Investigating, Detective.”

It was not exactly a lie, and besides, he didn’t have time to be irritated by Detective Richards speaking out of turn again. He had much more important things to think about, like the sight of Kevin hovering by the bonnet of a small, unfamiliar, wine-red motor vehicle at the bottom of the stairs. He paced up and down the length of it, trying not to clutch too desperately at his rose shearing hat as if the weight of the grandness of this gesture was just starting to hit him.

“Kevin?” Raymond asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Raymond.” He stopped pacing, at least, and swallowed hard. _Here goes nothing. “_Raymond, I hope you don’t think I’m too forward but I- I’m afraid I’ve found myself quite taken with you. I know it’s been difficult with my living upstate these last few months and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the effort you’ve gone to, to come out and see me on the train and all, but I’m sure you’ll agree the travel time is excessive so I’ve- well, I’ve- “

To get up the courage to admit it, he had to clear his throat again, but finally he spat it out;

“I’ve made an investment.”

And suddenly, Raymond understood why Kevin had been pacing in front of this unfamiliar car. It was his – dare Raymond say, _theirs._

“She’s beautiful,” he declared, and it was not an accident that he stepped up to Kevin’s side as he said it. He let their shoulders brush, and the contact lingered even as the blush crept into his cheeks.

“I love you,” he said. Kevin turned his head, enough for Raymond to see that he was also blushing, but smiling too.

“I love you, as well,” Kevin replied.

He did not drop his eyes from Raymond’s, and nor did Raymond from his, and his heart beat loud in his ears because he could swear that Raymond was thinking about kissing him. He glanced up at the window Raymond had come down from, and he hated himself for thinking about it in a moment like this, but he couldn’t help it.

“Raymond, your colleagues-“

“What are they going to do about it?”

And perhaps his bold deed had gone to his head, because Kevin found he did not have an argument for that. Raymond swept him into a kiss that was as brief and discreet as something like that had to be, but to Kevin, it was like New Years’ Day. He felt the tingle of it down to his toes, and a little breathless to boot.

Then there was a firm rapping of a knuckle on the glass upstairs. Raymond pressed his lips together, but his eyes couldn’t stop smiling. _No regrets._

“I’d best be going,” he said. “But I would be honoured if you would join me for dinner tonight.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Kevin agreed.

“Excellent. Then I shall see you at home.”

Raymond watched him, with those smiling eyes, for as long as he could until he had to turn to disappear back inside the building. Only once he was gone, did Kevin get back in the car, and even then, he clung to the steering wheel grinning about what had just happened, and replayed it over in his head a few times before the giddiness wore off well enough for him to drive away.


End file.
